A method for estimating the cycle time of business processes with many-to-many relationships among the resources and activities based on individual worklists

To analyze and optimize time performance of business process for faster response to customer demands, this study aims to develop a novel method for estimating the cycle time of business processes (or workflows) with many-to-many relationships between resources and activities based on individual worklists. The developed method for estimating business process cycle time is based on M/Hn/1/∞ queuing model and the joint distribution theory of random variables. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are verified by comparison with the existing methods with case studies. The results have shown that the proposed method can provide a more accurate estimation than conventional approaches.

► A more accurate method is developed for estimating business processes cycle time.
► This method can estimate the cycle time efficiently with less data input.
► A computerized solution has been developed for implementation.
► The feasibility and accuracy of this method have been verified with comparisons via numerical studies.